1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an assembly device automatically assembling a support mat to a ceramic catalyst carrier used in an exhaust system of a combustion engine of a motor vehicle, and others.
2. Description of the Related Art
A ceramic catalyst carrier with a support mat of a prior art is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 10-131744. The ceramic catalyst carrier carrying a catalyst is wound around an outer periphery thereof with a metal support mat and the carrier with the support mat is housed in a container that constitutes a part of an exhaust passage of an exhaust system of a combustion engine. FIG. 5A shows a process chart illustrating plane viewed states of the support mat 101 and the ceramic catalyst carrier 103 in three steps of an assembly procedure of them, and FIG. 5B shows a process chart illustrating front viewed states of them corresponding to the steps of FIG. 5A.
As shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the support mat 101 is assembled to a ceramic catalyst carrier 103 by using a jig 102 having a recession 102 with a semicircular cross section. Their assembly is performed by the following procedure below. First, a rectangular metal plate to be the support mat 101 and the ceramic catalyst carrier 103 are prepared. This support mat 101 is formed to have a main body, and engagement portions consisting of a depression 101a and a projection 101b that are provided in of the main body at both end portions in a winding direction of thereof, respectively, and can be fitted together with each other. The above formed support mat 101 is placed on the jig 102, and then the ceramic catalyst carrier 103 is pushed into the recession 102a of the jig 102, pressing the support mat 101 toward the recession 101 to deform a intermediate portion thereof, so that the intermediate portion of the support mat 101 is formed to curve along an arc-shaped bottom surface of the ceramic catalyst carrier 103. Then, the both end portions of the support mat 101, which are brought into a substantially perpendicularly standing state when the ceramic catalyst carrier 103 is pushed into the recession 102a, are pressed from both side portions thereof to approach each other so that the both end portions are curved along an arc-shaped upper surface of the ceramic catalyst carrier 103.
An adhesive seal 104 is pasted on the engagement portions where the depression 101a and the projection 101b are engaged with each other, to thereby tentatively join the both end portions of the support mat 101. Then, the ceramic catalyst carrier 103 having the support mat 101 assembled around the outer periphery thereof is taken out of the recession 102a of the jib 102. All these processes have been manually carried out.
However, since many work processes have been all manually carried out as described above in the prior art, work efficiency is poor and in addition, undesirable variations tend to occur occasionally in positioning accuracy when the support mat 101 is assembled to the ceramic catalyst carrier 103 and in the position and state of the pasted adhesive seal 104. This has posed problems that the support mat 101 may be poorly fitted to stick its part out of the container, the adhesive seal 104 may peel off or be tucked into the container, and other problems may occur when the assembled body is press-fitted in a container in a subsequent process.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an assembly device of a support mat for a ceramic catalyst carrier that is capable of improving work efficiency by automating many assembly processes and capable of enhancing positioning accuracy in assembling the support mat to the ceramic catalyst carrier, thereby preventing poor conditions that may possibly occur when the ceramic catalyst carrier with the support mat is press-fitted in a container constituting part of an exhaust passage of an exhaust system of a combustion engine.